Isaiah 14
Wycliffe's Bible
1for why the Lord shall have mercy of Jacob, and he shall choose yet of Israel, and shall make them for to rest on their land; a comeling shall be joined to them, and shall cleave to the house of Jacob. (for the Lord shall have mercy on Jacob, and he shall yet choose Israel, and shall give them rest on their land; a newcomer shall be joined to them, and shall cleave to the house of Jacob.) 2And peoples shall hold them, and shall bring them into their place. And the house of Israel shall have them in possession into servants and handmaids on the land of the Lord; and they shall take those men that took them, and they shall make subject their wrongful askers. (And the peoples, or the nations, shall help them, and shall bring them back to their place. And then the house of Israel shall have them in possession for servants and servantesses in the land of the Lord; and they shall take captive those who took them captive, and they shall make subject their oppressors.)

3And it shall be in that day, when God shall give to thee rest of thy travail, and of thy shaking, and of hard servage, in which thou servedest before, (And it shall be on that day, when God shall give thee rest from thy labour, and from thy fear and trembling, and from the hard servitude, or from the slavery, in which thou servedest before,)

4thou shalt take this parable against the king of Babylon, and thou shalt say, How ceased the wrongful asker, rested [the] tribute? (thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and thou shalt say, How the oppressor hath fallen! the tribute is now ceased!/How the mighty have fallen! the oppression, or the servitude, is now ended!)

5The Lord hath all-broken the staff of wicked men, the rod of lords,

6that beat peoples in indignation, with uncurable wound, that subjected folks in strong vengeance, that pursued cruelly. (they who beat the peoples in anger, with incurable wounds, they who subjected the nations to strong vengeance, and who cruelly pursued them.)

7Each land rested, and was still; it was joyful, and made full out joy.

8Also (the) fir trees and cedars of the Lebanon were glad on thee; (and said,) Since thou sleptest, none ascendeth that cutteth us down.

9Hell under thee is troubled for the meeting of thy coming; he shall raise giants to thee; all the princes of [the] earth have risen from their seats, all the princes of nations. (Sheol under thee is troubled at the meeting of thy coming; it shall raise up the dead for thee; all the kings of the earth have risen up from their thrones, all the leaders of the nations.)

10All they shall answer, and they shall say to thee, And thou art wounded as we, thou art made like us. (They all shall answer, and they shall say to thee, And thou art wounded like we be, thou art made like us.)

11Thy pride is drawn down to hells, thy dead carrion fell down (Thy pride is drawn down to Sheol, or the land of the dead, thy corpses fell down); a moth shall be strewed under thee, and thy covering shall be worms.

12A! Lucifer, that risedest early, how fellest thou down from heaven; thou that woundedest folks, felledest down (al)together into [the] earth. (O! Lucifer, who risedest up early, how thou hast fallen down from heaven; thou who hast wounded the nations, fell down to the ground.)

13Which saidest in thine heart, I shall ascend into heaven, I shall enhance my seat above the stars of (the) heaven(s); I shall sit in the hill of (the) testament, in the sides of the north. (Who saidest in thy heart, I shall ascend into heaven, I shall exalt, or I shall set, my throne above the stars of the heavens; I shall sit on the mountain where the gods meet, on the sides of the north.)

14I shall ascend on the highness of (the) clouds; I shall be like the Highest.

15Nevertheless thou shalt be drawn down to hell, into the depth of the pit.

16They that shall see thee, shall be bowed down to thee, and shall behold thee. (And they shall say,) Whether this is the man, that troubled [the] earth, that shook together realms? (And they shall say, Is this the man, who troubled the earth, who shook the kingdoms?)

17that setted the world desert, and destroyed the cities thereof, and opened not the prison to the bound men of him? (who turned the world into a desert, and destroyed its cities, and never opened his prison to release his bound?/to release his prisoners?)

18All the kings of heathen men, all slept in glory, a man in his house. (All the kings of the heathen, they all slept in glory, each man in his own house, or in his own tomb.)

19But thou art cast out of thy sepulchre, as an unprofitable stock, as defouled with rot; and wrapped with them that be slain with sword, and went down to the foundament of the pit. As a rotten carrion (Like a rotten corpse),

20thou shalt not have fellowship, neither with them in sepulchre, for thou hast lost thy land, thou hast slain the people; the seed of the worst men shall not be called without end. (thou shalt not have fellowship with them in the tomb, or in the grave, for thou hast destroyed thy land, and thou hast killed thy own people; the children, or the descendants, of these evil people shall never be seen again.)

21Make ye ready his sons to slaying, for the wickedness of their fathers; they shall not rise, neither they shall inherit the land, neither they shall fill the face of the roundness (of the earth) of cities. (Prepare ye his sons for killing, for the wickedness of their forefathers; they shall not rise up and inherit the land, nor shall they fill the face of the roundness of the earth with their cities.)

22And I shall rise [up] on them, saith the Lord of hosts, and I shall lose the name of Babylon, and the remnants, and generation, and seed, saith the Lord. (For I shall rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and I shall destroy the name of Babylon, and its remnants, and its children, and its descendants, saith the Lord.) 23And I shall set that Babylon into possession of an urchin, and into marishes of waters; and I shall sweep it with a besom, and I shall stamp (it), saith the Lord of hosts. (And I shall give that Babylon into the possession of hedgehogs, or of conies, and to the marshes of water; and I shall sweep it with a broom, and I shall stamp it, saith the Lord of hosts.)

24The Lord of hosts swore, saying, Whether it shall not be so, as I guessed, and it shall befall so, as I treated in soul? (The Lord of hosts swore, saying, Shall it not be so, just as I thought, and shall it not befall, just as I said?) 25That I all-break the king of Assyrians in my land, and that I defoul him in mine hills; and his yoke shall be taken away from them, and his burden shall be taken away from the shoulder of them. (That I all-break the king of Assyria in my land, and that I defile him in my hills; and his yoke shall be taken away from them, and his burden shall be taken off their shoulders.) 26This is the counsel which I thought on all the land, and this is the hand stretched forth on all folks. (This is the plan which I thought up for all the world, and this is the hand stretched forth upon all the nations.) 27For why the Lord of hosts hath deemed, and who may make unsteadfast? (For the Lord of hosts hath determined, and who can make it unsteadfast?) and his hand is stretched forth, and who shall turn it away?

28The burden of (the) Philistines. In the year wherein king Ahaz died, this burden was made.

29All thou Philistia, be not glad, for the rod of thy smiter is made less; for why a cockatrice shall go out of the root of an adder, and his seed shall swallow up a bird (and its fruit, or its children, shall be flying serpents).

30And the first engendered of poor men shall be fed, and poor men shall rest faithfully; and I shall make thy root to perish in hunger, and I shall slay thy remnants. (And the first begotten of the poor shall be fed, and the poor shall rest peacefully; but I shall make thy roots to perish from hunger, and I shall kill thy remnants.)

31Yell, thou gate; cry, thou city; all Philistia is cast down; for why smoke shall come from the north, and none is that shall escape his host. (Yell, O gate; cry, O city; all Philistia is cast down; and a tumult, or a column of smoke/or a cloud of dust, shall come from the north, and no one shall escape his army.)

32And what shall be answered to the messengers of [the] folk? for the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor men of his people shall hope in him. (And what shall be answered to the messengers of the nation? that the Lord hath founded Zion, and that the poor among his people shall have hope there.)

WYCLIFFE’S BIBLE

Comprising of
Wycliffe’s Old Testament

and

Wycliffe’s New Testament
(Revised Edition)


Translated by

JOHN WYCLIFFE
and JOHN PURVEY


A modern-spelling edition of their
14TH century Middle English translation,
the first complete English vernacular version,
with an Introduction by

TERENCE P. NOBLE

Used by Permission

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